Telecoms help me hit another record

There’s nothing like hitting new milestones when it comes to dividend-growth investing.

I should know … I hit two within a span of five days.

Oct. 27 was a good day for me. I earned a then-record $10.64 in dividend income. Today, less than a week later, I set a new single-day mark by hauling in a combined $12.41 thanks in large part to a pair of telecoms.

I bet you can guess which ones, too … you can’t watch TV for more than five minutes without seeing one or both of their commercials flash across the screen.

You see, the thing about telecoms, especially the two I own a handful of shares of, is they’re so damn cheap right now. People are freaking out about cord cutting and whatever else they can find to worry about and share prices are tumbling because of it. I, meanwhile, have slowly added to my positions – something that has literally started to pay dividends.

Here’s where the record payout came from.

Today’s Dividends

AT&T: T paid me $7.35 for the 15 shares I have in my Dividend Farm ($0.49 a share). If you’re not buying T right now, why the heck not? The company has been boosting its dividend for more than 30 years in a row and, thanks to the recent slide, has a yield up near 6%.

Verizon: VZ hooked me up with $2.95 for the five shares I own ($0.59 a share). Last time the company paid me, back in August, the same five shares earned me $2.89. I know, a one-cent raise (per share) isn’t much, but a raise is a raise, right?

Deere: DE passed along a $0.60 dividend for the one share I own. It was my third payment from the company, and all have been for the same amount. One thing that hasn’t stayed the same, though, is the share price. It’s up $24.20 (21.99%) since I opened my position back in February.

Bristol-Myers Squibb: BMY paid me a $0.39 dividend for the one share I own. BMY is another company I’ve owned since February, and another company that’s done pretty well for me. It’s up $10.24 (19.72%) since purchase.

Darden Restaurants: I received a $0.63 dividend for the one share of DRI I own. I like Olive Garden’s parent company for a lot of reasons, but mostly because of its 3% yield, sustainable 64% payout ratio, decent EPS growth (7.95% last quarter verses the same quarter from the previous year) and low debt.

General Mills: GIS paid me a $0.49 dividend for my one share. The company has taken a hit of late – my position is down 14% since purchase – but I’m not sweating it. The dividend is closing in on a 4% yield, which, from a blue chip like GIS, is pretty damn good.